ESPN FC pundit Steve Nicol, who won five league titles with Liverpool as a player between 1982 and 1990, said he could not understand how a young player would turn down the opportunity to move to Anfield.

I found it a little surprising that Paul Ince felt his son Thomas shouldn’t go to Liverpool because he thought it would harm his development.

He said: "How many players get the opportunity to play at a club with Liverpool's stature? Not many. And how many have turned it down?

"Thomas is 22, I was 19 when I got my opportunity to join Liverpool. I could only see how it would help my development not hinder it. Personally, being able to train and play with the calibre of Liverpool players day in and day out would, without question, help him to become a better player.

"His decision to go on loan to Crystal Palace seems a strange one considering the type of football Palace will play under Tony Pulis. Surely going to Anfield would have made him a better all-round player rather than the blood-and-guts of a relegation battle at Crystal Palace.

"The only real positive would be that he's playing in the Premier League. That step up will undoubtedly test his game physically but will he be any the wiser whether he will have the mental strength to play for a big club like Liverpool."